


i could beat you if i wanted

by sunglaze



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Best Friends Choi Soobin & Choi Yeonjun, Confessions and confusion, M/M, Rivals to Lovers, Taebin - Freeform, soobin is spiteful, taehyun and soobin are top students, trust line
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:00:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27384580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunglaze/pseuds/sunglaze
Summary: Taehyun and Soobin are top students in their school. For once, Soobin wants to play dirty and beat Taehyun, but his plan doesn’t exactly turn out the way he wanted it to.
Relationships: Choi Soobin/Kang Taehyun
Comments: 16
Kudos: 115





	i could beat you if i wanted

**Author's Note:**

> based on a korean post that says “i feel like the guy at the top of our class is gonna do well this exam too... should i just confess in the morning to break his focus?” 
> 
> (thank u to @sooberri for the translation and fic idea! go follow her on twt she's amazing <3)
> 
> when i read that i thought... taebin fits this trope?#:@# or maybe thats just me being a taebin thinker idk
> 
> note that soobin taehyun & yeonjun are all the same age here! otherwise the story wouldn't work
> 
> enjoy reading!

Kang Taehyun sits at his desk in the second row of the room, with his back straight as he diligently flips through the pages of his notebook. There’s an opened packet of almonds on his lap, and every two flips or so, he sneaks a hand down to take a piece to snack on.

On the opposite end of the room sits Choi Soobin. Similar to Taehyun, there’s a notebook laid across his desk and a small box of milk on one side. Only he isn’t reading his notes – instead, he’s studying Taehyun closely.

Soobin turns around and faces Yeonjun who’s lying on his desk, left cheek pressed against the wood.

“I’m going to confess to him later.”

Yeonjun slightly opens an eye, “After the exam?”

“No, _right before_ the exam.”

Yeonjun gets up from his position and leans against the backrest of his chair. “Why so suddenly?”

“He’s been getting first lately.” Soobin takes a sip from the milk box, “I’ve been trying to get first, but I always end up only placing second. He works harder than anyone.”

Yeonjun snorts, “So you’re planning to sabotage him by confessing right before the exam in hopes of leaving him too flustered to focus?”

“Exactly.”

“Soobin,” Yeonjun turns in his seat and faces his friend, “Do you really like him? That kinda sounds like something his mortal enemy would do.”

“You know I do. I’m allowed to like Taehyun _and_ compete with him.”

“I personally think you’re just trying to sabotage him.”

“And what’s wrong with that?”

Yeonjun shakes his head, “I don’t think I’ll ever get to understand the way you think. Besides, Taehyun has laser focus. Do you really think that would work?”

The exam proctor enters the room. All the students in the room start to settle down, returning to their respective seats and placing their notes back under the desks.

“We still have fifteen minutes until the test starts,” The proctor announces, “You can take a bathroom break. Just be sure to be back before 10, alright?” 

The students agree in chorus. A few head outside, but most remain in their seats and take out their notes and textbooks.

“So–“ Yeonjun looks to his right, but Soobin is already gone from his seat. He’s heading down the center aisle towards Taehyun’s desk. When he comes to a stop just a few steps away from the desk, Taehyun looks up from his notes.

“I have something to tell you,” Soobin says confidently, “Can we talk outside?”

Wordlessly, Taehyun nods and follows Soobin who leads them a bit farther from their room. They find themselves by the staircase at the end of the hall.

“What is it?”

Soobin looks at anywhere but Taehyun’s eyes. “I...”

He hesitates for a bit before making up his mind one last time. He stands taller and speaks a bit clearer.

“I like you.”

Taehyun doesn’t look surprised.

“Took you long enough,” He laughs, “I like you too, Soobin.”

“Huh?” The boy looks dazed.

Taehyun smiles gently, “Do you wanna go out during the weekend?”

“I – uh. Sure?”

Taehyun checks his wristwatch, “It’s five minutes until ten. We should head back.”

He turns around and heads back to the room. Soobin follows as he tries to make sense of what had just transpired.

Kang Taehyun likes him. Likes him _back._

Soobin’s plan didn’t turn out the way he intended.

When he returns to his seat, Yeonjun immediately interrogates him.

“How’d it go? What did he say? Was he surprised?”

Soobin doesn’t answer.

“Soobin?”

Yeonjun looks from Soobin to Taehyun, and then back. “You look like you’re the one who got a surprise confession out there.”

“Well,” Soobin breathes, “You could say that.”

“What?”

“He said he likes me back.”

Before Yeonjun can react, the proctor’s voice interrupts the two boys. She instructs the students to put away notes and keep their bags under their desks. She then starts to distribute the papers.

“Tell me about it later.” Yeonjun hurriedly whispers.

Soobin barely nods. When he receives his exam paper, he writes the characters of his name with trembling fingers. It takes him longer to process the questions than usual, and he shades the circles a bit messily. It seems that he’s the one who was left flustered instead of Taehyun.

He shouldn’t have been too competitive, Soobin thinks. It’s like the universe just pulled a big joke on him. If Soobin closes his eyes, he could just imagine a voice taunting him and saying, _serves you right for thinking that you could beat him._

Before Soobin knows it, there’s only five minutes left for the test and he’s scrambling to shade all the circles left in the last column of his test sheet. Once he has passed his test sheet, he slumps over the desk and buries his face against his arm. He absolutely flunked the test – all because of his little plan to throw Taehyun off.

☆

On Friday noon, it’s announced that the test results have just been posted. Everyone in the room rushes to the hall to check their scores and ranking. On an ordinary day, Soobin would also eagerly rush to the bulletin board displaying the test results. Only now, he’s a hundred percent sure that he failed the test. Or at least by his standards.

Students zoom past Soobin as he makes his way to the hall. By the time he arrives, there’s not a lot of students crowding the board anymore. He stands at the back while he scans through the list – _thank god for his height._ He starts scanning from the bottom, expecting his name to be somewhere in that part.

It takes Soobin a while to spot his name, and when he does, he’s taken aback by his ranking.

_Fourth._

Definitely a thousand times better than what he had initially expected, considering that his mind wasn’t exactly in the right place while taking the test. He sighs in relief.

He quickly scans the list for Taehyun’s name.

First.

Of course. Yeonjun was right – Taehyun had laser focus. Even a confession right before the exam wouldn’t do any damage on him.

Soobin turns around to head back to his room, but he meets Taehyun’s eyes who stands a couple feet away.

“Hey,” Taehyun waves. He approaches Soobin.

“Are we still on for later?”

“Wait,” Soobin observes Taehyun’s face, searching for any sign of insincerity, “You weren’t kidding about that?”

Taehyun laughs, “Why would I?”

“Right, why would you...” Soobin shakes his head at himself. For the past few days, he’d been in conflict with himself, wondering whether or not Taehyun really likes him back.

“Do you need to hear it again?”

Soobin looks up from his glare at the ground, “Hear what?”

“That I like you.”

Warmth spreads in Soobin’s chest. Somehow, the same words still have the same effect on him. Yet, he still finds it hard to believe.

“I think I still have to get used to that.”

Taehyun smiles, “I could repeat it as much as you like.”

“Can you say it again?”

“I like you, Soobin.”

A soft smile finds itself on Soobin’s face, “I like you too, Taehyun.”

“I know,” Taehyun laughs. “So, where do you wanna go?”

Taehyun loops his arm with Soobin’s. For a moment, there’s a look of surprise on the latter’s face, but he relaxes. He takes Taehyun’s hand grasping his arm and leads it down to his own hand. Taehyun beams at him as he intertwines their fingers.

They don’t have a destination yet, but they’re definitely headed somewhere together.

**Author's Note:**

> kudos and comments are very much appreciated!
> 
> find me on twt :D @minizode


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